Menu

Fake Network Members: An Unprincipled Practice

This may come as a surprise to some but many of various network members know – not everyone who approaches them for business as a member really is a member. To someone who administers freight networks I am constantly disheartened by this. Many of these companies are simply imposters and others

Sometimes this could be a simple miscommunication between the companies’ management and staff, on the other hand we have had many instances of companies being misleading by outright claiming to be a member when they are not or they will make misleading statements such as “I know you through the network” or “we have your name through the network directory”. I have even seen where people say “I have your name through the network staff / Gary Dale” which very often isn’t true. (Have you ever heard these statements through companies you have never heard of?). Though these people don’t explicitly say they are network members they are still quite misleading in their introduction. And if they are doing it intentionally, which the vast majority of them are, it is unethical.

Oddly, I have found in the past that a number of these very companies who practice these deceptions are companies who have approached us about membership in a particular network but for whatever reason did not want to pay the fees the same as other members. They would either try to negotiate with us and get turned back or they would stand on “principle” and say that they don’t pay subscription dues to belong to networks. Some are also companies who applied for membership in the past and didn’t qualify to get in.

My position is fairly firm on this: Any company that approaches you and leads you to believe, either directly or indirectly, that they are a network member when they are not sends a very loud signal that they are great risks for fraudulent or unethical behavior. You are at risk for payment and you are at risk that they are unqualified to handle the cargo. Do you really want that?

How will you know? Well, first of all, for companies who have been a member of our group for some time we there is a good chance that members would have been introduced directly to you as we announce all new members. But just remember, whether you have been a part of this group for a long time or a short time, if anyone ever says they are a member of network and you don’t personally know that they are, before doing business you might want to look at our online member directories to compare whether this is true or not. If still in doubt then ask me. We would be happy to help you in this regard.

What I can say to anyone who is considering doing such a thing is don’t. This is unethical and unprofessional and it will ultimately backfire on you.